Monday, March 7, 2022 at 07:11

Valentijn Driessen believes that the KNVB should not yet sign Ronald Koeman as the successor to Louis van Gaal after the World Cup in Qatar. The chief of football of The Telegraph writes in his column for the newspaper that Koeman’s first term as national coach of the Dutch may be taken into account, but that it must also be remembered that he abandoned the Dutch national team for Barcelona and was unable to convince there. Moreover, Driessen warns that a lot can change in the coming months.

Driessen calls Koeman a ‘good successor to Van Gaal’ and ‘a serious candidate’, but at the same time believes that the KNVB should provide ‘customization’ and look at the situation at the Dutch. “Koeman’s first period can be taken into account, but cannot be the deciding factor because it offers no guarantee for the future. It is premature to ensnare him now because otherwise it may be too late. Ten months in football is an eternity,” said Driessen, who makes the comparison with the premature appointment of Danny Blind. The the Dutch then missed the 2016 European Championship and the 2018 World Cup.

Koeman wants to, but there’s no need to hurry. Imagine that Guardiola is available and open to the Dutch,” Driessen writes. He saw Koeman explicitly apply in the media in recent days for the succession of Van Gaal, who will leave the KNVB’s service in January 2023 after the World Cup in Qatar. “It is forgotten that after a successful period with the the Dutch squad, Koeman left for Barcelona in August 2020. He abandoned the KNVB and the players.”

Driessen therefore attributes the failed European Championship of the Dutch partly to Koeman, since in his words there was no click between his successor Frank de Boer and the selection. “In Barcelona, ​​Koeman was just as badly damaged as De Boer at the Dutch,” says Driessen. He misses the self-criticism of Koeman, who ‘never let Barcelona swing’. “Not surprising in itself, because Koeman is a pragmatic, realistic coach and not an idealist like his good friend Pep Guardiola. Xavi is much more than that and is a better fit for FC Barcelona, ​​because with him everything revolves around the revival of tiki-taka football.”